Senior Pastor Transition Process
Dr. Silvernail's retirement is effective January 1, 2027, marking 30 years at Potomac Hills.
This page serves as a tool to keep the congregation informed about the Senior Pastor Transition Process.
It will be the Lord himself who brings the next pastor to this church.
The newest updates will appear first.
April 24, 2026 Transition Team Meeting
Minutes:
Devotion: Biblical encouragement in what a church is and does
Finalize Pastor Profile
Finalize Church Profile
Review Session Recommendations
Plan a congregational update
Actions:
Deliver documents to Session
Congregational Update
April 10, 2026 - The Transition Team met to discuss:
Pastor Profile - Discussion to work towards a solid second draft.
Church Profile - Discussion to work towards a solid second draft.
Actions - One more review of each document, before finalization at next meeting.
March 20, 2026 - Transition Team meeting to review survey responses and begin first drafts of the pastor profile and church profile.
March 1, 2026 - Surveys were handed out by the Transition Team to the congregation to get input that will be used to develop the Church Profile and Pastor Profile. Survey responses are due March 22nd. There will be a number of discussion sessions in the next two weeks to give feedback as well.
February 27, 2026
Transition Team Meeting:
This meeting focused heavily on details, processes, and timelines especially for the survey.
• Devotional
• Review of Transition Team Purpose and Process
• Discussion on Timeline for Group Feedback
• Group Discussion Details
• Overall Timeline Discussion
• Approach for Facilitating Group Discussion
• Next Meeting (3/13) Plan
February 20, 2026
Transition team meeting:
- Finalized the congregation survey
- Adjusted timeline for survey rollout
- Planned for group discussions regarding the survey
January 30, 2026
This was the first meeting of the Transition Team. The team plans to meet roughly every other Friday, with ad hoc meetings as needed. We hope to provide brief minutes from each meeting so the congregation can get a sense of what's happening.
- Discussed the team's purpose
- Discussed the three documents we'll produce: suggestions to Session, a church profile, and a pastor profile
- Began planning how to gather input from the congregation
- Set a target completion date of June 1, 2026 for the transition team's work
February 1, 2026 - The Transition Team members are announced: Wade Baker, Andy Pogany, George Eichert (Chair), Matt Zollinhofer (Secretary), Sue Swedo, Courtney Stine, Priscilla Kamakawiwoole, Gail Spence, Paula Palkovic. See the video below for more information.
Pastoral Letter for a Faithful Church January 11, 2026
Dear friends,
Have I mentioned that I’m retiring? Perhaps you’ve heard that. Well, it’s true. And that means we’re moving ahead with our transition plans. As Ruling Elder Mark Rist shared with you at our Annual Meeting on December 7th, we have been planning on contracting with a “Transition Coach” to guide, advise, train, and, well, coach us as we move into what is somewhat new territory for us as a church.
I’m pleased to announce that the Session has decided it would be wise for us to work with Teaching Elder Mike Sharrett of Lynchburg, VA. Mike is well-known in the PCA and in our presbytery as a wise and gracious pastor who has helped a number of churches navigate the transition process. Mike will start meeting with our Session immediately and the Transition Team as soon as it is formed. You can learn more about him at www.mikesharrett.com.
You should know a little bit about Mike since he’ll be involved with our transition, so here’s his bio —Mike and Janice met at Gettysburg College and have been married for 47 years. After graduate school at the University of Virginia and Westminster Seminary, the Lord has taken them on a journey to serve churches in Charlottesville, VA., Ft. Worth, TX., and Lynchburg, VA., by both planting new churches and nurturing the work of RUF. Mike more recently has served as an interim pastor in the Philly suburbs, in College Park, MD., Charlottesville, VA., and two churches in the Tidewater area. Janice retired from teaching middle school math, science and Bible for a classical Christian school in Lynchburg and enjoys reading, nature stuff, and being “Jammy” to her grands. Mike enjoys model trains and outdoorsy stuff. They enjoy the beach, the mountains, and walks.
Mike has written two books, Watching Over The Heart (https://a.co/d/ikoetNu) and Watching the Path of Your Feet (https://a.co/d/6hRpHjY), and as you can see by the links, both books are available on Amazon.
As with all transition news, we’ll keep you updated through a dedicated page on our website, https://www.potomachills.org/pastor-transition The Session and Pastor Sharrett encourage everyone to join us in continued prayer for the Lord to work in us and through us all for His glory during this important season in the life of Potomac Hills Presbyterian Church. Let’s mark this transition time as spiritually mature people who trust God, trust God’s Word, and trust God’s Work in our Church.
So let me close with a verse that’s a good reminder for us during this season of transition, Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
All of Grace – Beginning to End,
Dr. David V. Silvernail, Jr., Senior Pastor
Potomac Hills Presbyterian Church
November 2025 - We enter a season of prayer for our pastoral transition. The current month's prayer theme will be posted on this page; the congregation is encouraged to share their own prayers in Realm (our internal communications forum).
January - December, 2025 - The Session meets regularly for prayer and discussion of the transition process and timeline.
December 8, 2024 - Dr. Silvernail announces he will retire as of January 1, 2027.